Aggression

I’m Smiling at You!

Greyhounds are not an aggressive dog. You are not going to see the snarling, growling, ears pulled back demeanor you might see in other breeds. Now their ears are always pulled back, because it just makes them look cool and even more streamlined. This is normal. The younger ones, in play, will snap, snarl and growl.

A greyhound who is not playing, and does snarl and snap is usually doing it in response to some kind of fear – children, raised voices or hands, memory of mistreatment in the past, vet visit, bathing, walks etc. Most aggression is fear-based and you work with your hound through time, patience, behavior mod, and natural products to reduce that fear over time.  Of course, if you’ve adopted a greyhound who is scared of children, please return that greyhound to the adoption group right away. Growls turn into snarls and those turn into snaps, and at child level that usually ends up in a bite. Not because the greyhound wanted to bite, but because the child AND PARENT were not listening to what the greyhound (and any other dog) was saying – very clearly – Get this child away from me.

Greyhound Gang likes Azmira’s Calm and Relax formula for fear based aggression.

Dogs with fear based aggression should only be placed in very experienced homes.